Bid Farewell
Ella Banks and Linda Frost are closing the doors to Lovers Lane Antique Market at the end of the year after selling the property.
The buyer has not announced plans, but the location will not remain an antique store.
Banks and Frost have been in the antique business for the past three decades, traveling, looking for treasures, and developing relationships with Dallas dealers and customers.
The Lovers Lane market, which has been voted Best Antique Market by D Magazine, is filled with 18th- and 19th-century antiques from all over the world.
Banks and Frost, whose third partner Judy Miller previously retired, agreed it was time for them to retire as well so they can travel with their families and spend time with their grandchildren.
The trio formerly owned the McKinney Avenue Antique Market in the 90s.
Frost says when they first started running the markets, creating a retail storefront for different antique dealers was a new concept.
Banks credits the dealers with keeping the business alive.
“Linda and I have been wise in the dealers we pick but they make this market what it is,” Banks said. “They buy beautiful antiques, they’re knowledgeable, professional, and that’s what’s made us so successful.”
Every year Banks and Frost hold an annual tent sale at the market, modeled after the Portobello Road Market in London.
“A lot of people in Dallas know us from the tent sale,” Banks said. “All the dealers participate.”
Banks says the small size of their operation sets it apart from other antique markets and contributes to the quality of the products inside the store.
“When you get larger, you lose control of quality because you have to fill more spaces,” Banks said. “When you lose the quality of your dealers, that reduces the quality of the entire market.”
Banks and Frost will miss a few things about running the market: traveling to Europe every year, forming relationships with customers and dealers, and coming to work every day.
“I’ll always remember looking forward to coming to work every day; I’ve always looked forward to it,” Banks said. “Sometimes I wake up in the night and think ‘Gosh, I can’t go to work for another 6 hours.’ That’s how much fun we’ve had around here.”
